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every truth made known to him by God, obliges him to receive this truth in particular, and be delighted with the glory of God shining forth in it, and that his own salvation is connected with the glory of God. Should we deny that the law lays us under this obligation, we should then affirm that the law does not enjoin us to acknowledge God as true, and that there is a holy love of God and of ourselves which the law does not command; all which are most absurd. I go further: When man, as the law prescribes, receives the truth of the Gospel with a lively faith, then, not the law, but the Gospel, promises salvation to him. For the law knows of no other promise, than what depends on the condition of perfect obedience. But should man slight and obstinately reject that truth proposed to him, he sins against the law, and so incurs its curse, according to the general rule so often inculcated. And since we have supposed the Gospel declaring that salvation flows from the faith of Christ alone, the law enjoins that all who desire salvation should seek it by the faith of Christ alone; and consequently it cannot but thunder the curse against those who, rejecting the Gospel, believe not on Christ. As, therefore, unbelief, or the rejecting the Gospel, is a sin against the law, which is the only perfect rule of all virtue (it can be called a sin against the Gospel, only objectively), so every threatening of the curse and of wrath against unbelievers and the despisers of the Gospel, must come from and be reduced to the law; but then it is to the law as now subservient to the covenant of grace.

In the dis

Prophets,

XXIII. In the discourses of the Prophets, Christ, and his apostles, there is a certain mixture of various doctrines, which, indeed, are closely connected, and a mixture of mutually subservient; each of which ought to be re

Christ and

his apostles,

law and

Gospel.

duced to their proper heads, so that the promises of grace be referred to the Gospel, all injunctions of duty and all threatenings against transgressors to the law.

259

CHAPTER II.

Of the ONENESS of the Covenant of Grace, as to its Substance.

The covenant

as to sub

stance.

I. It is a matter of the greatest moment, that we learn distinctly to consider the covenant of grace, either as it of grace one is in its substance or essence, as they call it, or as it is in diverse ways proposed by God, with respect to circumstantials, under different economies. If we view the substance of the covenant, it is but only one, nor is it possible it should be otherwise. There is no other way worthy of God, in which salvation can be bestowed on sinners, but that discovered in the Gospel. Whence the apostle, Gal. i. 7, has beautifully said, "which is not another." And that testament which was consecrated by the blood of Christ, he calls "everlasting," Heb. xiii. 20, because it was settled from eternity, published immediately upon the fall of the first man, constantly handed down by the ancients, more fully explained by Christ himself and his apostles, and is to continue throughout all ages, and, in virtue of which, believers shall inherit eternal happiness. But we attend to the circumstances of the covenant, it was stances, vadispensed "at sundry times and in divers manners," pensed. under various economies for the manifestation of the manifold wisdom of God. In considering this, we are first to discourse on those general things which appertain to the substance of the covenant, and have continued in every age; and then explain the different economies or dispensations, and the new accessions made to each; which we will, first, do in a general and concise manner, in this and the following chapter; then gradually descend to the more special considerations.

if

As to circum

riously dis

In the covenant of grace

onesalvation, one Saviour, one faith.

II. We therefore maintain, agreeable to the sacred writings, that to all the Elect, living in any period of time: 1st, One and the same eternal life was promised. 2dly, That Jesus Christ was held forth as the one and the same author and bestower of salvation. 3dly, That they could not become partakers of it any other way, but by a true and lively faith in him. If we demonstrate these three things, none can any longer doubt, but that the covenant of grace must be, as to its substance, only one from the beginning. For, if the salvation be the same, and the author of it the same, the manner of communion with him the same, it is certain, the covenant itself cannot be more than one.

That eternal

mised to the Elect from the beginning

III. The Scriptures so plainly declare, that eternal life was pro life was promised to the Elect from the beginning, that it is astonishing any Christians could venture to deny appears from it; who, indeed, are much blinder than the Jews John v. 39. themselves; of whom our Lord testifies, John v. 39, "Ye do search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life" and that they were neither rash nor erroneous in thinking that the promises of eternal life, and the manner of enjoying them, were contained in the Scriptures they had, we prove by the most cogent arguments. 1st, Because, not only the Lord Jesus does not charge them, in this respect, with the least error, but makes use of that as a reason to recommend to them the search of the Scriptures. But it is very inconsistent with the great sincerity of the Lord Jesus, and the divine dignity of the Scriptures, to recommend them by arguments not genuine, or to recommend their value and usefulness from Jewish forgeries. Nay, had the Jews falsely persuaded themselves, that the promises of eternal life were contained in the Old Testament records, our Lord ought not, by any concession, to have cherished that mistake, which would have hindered them from acknowledging the excellence of his doctrine, and consequently the divinity of his person; but rather to have exclaimed against them: "In vain do you search the Scriptures, in hopes of finding eternal life in them; attend rather to me and my doctrine, who am the first who came into the world as a preacher of eternal life." But every one may see how inconsistent this was from the design of the Lord Jesus. 2ndly, To this we add, that Paul's hope was founded on the Law and the Prophets, as well as the expectation of the Jews, Acts xxiv. 14, 15, “ Believing all things, which are written in the Law and the Prophets; and have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." He testifies, that the Jews expected a resurrection of the dead; he professes the same belief and hope with them; and that he did not do so out of a vain presumption, but from a faith resting on the Law and the Prophets, which they also, in their manner, carefully read, and from which they had derived the same expectation with him. 3rdly, The Jews were so far from judging amiss in this respect, that, on the contrary, the Lord Jesus reproved the Sadducees, as ignorant of the Scriptures, because from them they had no learned life eternal and the resurrection, Matt. xxii. 29.

And Matt. xxii. 31, 32.

IV. But let us argue from the very books of the Old Testament and first, after the example of our Lord, who, Matt. xxii. 31, 32, speaks to this purpose: "But, as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the

God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." This inference appeared so evident to the multitude, that they were astonished at his doctrine, and the Sadducees were put to silence, ver. 33, 34. And, indeed, if the words of Moses, quoted by Christ, be accurately weighed, the evidence of this argument will easily appear to the attentive reader.

When emphatically is God to any cludes eter

said, that God

one, it in

nal life.

V. For, 1st, That expression, to be God to any, in its full import, includes life eternal, For, when God becomes the sinner's God, he then becomes to him what he is to himself. But, what is he to himself? Doubtless, the fountain of eternal and complete blessedness. When God, out of his grace, gives himself to man, he gives him all things; for himself is all things. Such a man finds in God "a shield" against every evil, and an "exceeding great reward," Gen. xv. 1. And what can he desire more in order to his perfect happiness? Accordingly, the apostle joins these two, Heb. xi. 16, God to be the God of any one, and to have prepared for them a city. And seeing the "gifts" of God's grace, especially when he gives himself, are without repentance," Rom. xi. 29; hereby also the eternity of this happiness is established.

66

The covenant

of God with

the whole man, pro

mises salva

tion to the

God called

VI. 2ndly, Moreover, this covenant is not made with the soul, but with the man; and God not only requires the worship of the soul, but also the submission of the body, as redeemer of both, in order to his being glorified in both accordingly he appointed a sign of his whole man. covenant to be in the body, Gen. xvii. 13. And consequently, when he calls himself the God of the whole man, he promises his salvation, not to the soul alone, but to the body also. VII. 3dly, These considerations will be more cogent, if we reflect, that the words from which our Lord himself the argues were spoken of the Patriarchs, who had been God of the dead long before, Exod. iii. 6. But as God is not the long after God of persons who have no existence, it was first evident, that their souls survived, and enjoyed the beatific vision of God; and since, as we have just said, their bodies also were comprehended in the covenant, it followed, that, at the appointed time, their very bodies, when raised from the dust, should be reunited to their souls, in order to partake of the same happiness.

patriarchs,,

their death.

God delivers

him, whose from his ene

God he is,

VIII. 4thly, To be the God of any one, signifies, in the usual style of Scripture, deliverance from enemies; compare Ps. iii. 7, 8. But death is our greatest and last enemy, 1 Cor. xv. 26. As therefore God delivers those, whose God he is, out of the hand of their death. mies, he cannot be the God of those who always remain under the power of death; but all who have him for their God, must,

ene

mies, consequently from

after death is swallowed up, exultingly sing that song of triumph, "O death! where is thy victory?"

As the pa

triarchs had nothing extra this life,

ordinary in

it

remains that

this promise

IX. 5thly, It is beyond all controversy, that God promised to those illustrious patriarchs, when he called himself their God, something highly excellent, and by which they were to be peculiarly distinguished above others, who were not so eminent in the service of God. But they obtained nothing so very distinguishing above other men, in this world, that could equal the greatness of this promise. Many wicked men lived more happily in the land of Canaan, and elsewhere. It follows, then, that these things regard concerns of a superior nature, and belong to eternal life in heaven.

refers to the life to come.

Seeing God promised to

bless others

the patriarchs, much

more does he bless them.

X. 6thly and lastly, If we are benefactors to any here, for the sake of another, we will much more do good to him, on whose account we do good to them, if on account of it is in our power. But God wants no power. And he declares he will be a benefactor to the posterity, for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; much more, then, he is and will be a benefactor to themselves. But they could not be capable of receiving any good, if they did not exist; nor of the highest benefit, if they were for ever to be under the power and dominion of death. It therefore follows, that, when these words were spoken, their souls were in being, and at the time appointed, were to be restored to life, that God, in a distinguishing manner, might be their benefactor. All these things follow from the words of Moses by an easy consequence.

The prevari

XI. What Volkelius says is to no purpose, when, cation of Vol- being pinched by this passage, he requires us, lib. iii. kelius. c. 11, to produce testimonies, in which this benefit is promised to us [viz. in the Old] in as clear and evident terms as in the New Testament; for he denies that the passage we are now treating of can on any account be of that number, as appears from this, that, "before Christ explained it, none ever ventured so much as to suspect it contained any such thing. Nor is it credible that the Pharisees, who were very well skilled in the divine law, and who, as it seems, frequently and warmly disputed with the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead, would have passed over this place in silence, if they had imagined it to contain a testimony to that purpose.' The question XII. All this is trifling, for, 1st, The question is not whether the testimonies concerning eternal life are expressed in such plain and clear words in the Old Testament as in the New, which none of us affirm, who own that these economies differ exceedingly in the degrees of their clearness; but whether any testimonies at all concerning eternal life are to be found in the Old Testament, which

not whether

life eternal

was then

plainly promised, but whether at all.

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